Tribes: We Need You To Lead Us

Jolene Kemos

Godin, S. (2008). Tribes: We need you to lead us. New York: Penguin Group.

Descriptive Summary: 

Tribes is a motivating, if somewhat unorganized, attempt to light a fire under…well…everyone…to affect change in the status quo!  In a mere 147 pages, Godin defines stagnant and ineffective organizational structures/approaches and, through personal experiences, company and leadership profiles, paints an inspiring portrait of the layman’s unprecedented potential for leadership.

Evaluation:

As we continue to evolve library structures and services to meet the needs of, and involve our users, bold leadership is required. Godin's work is a shot in the arm to get us going. In the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, particularly in public schools, this is a much needed call to action. Godin has very little patience for complacency or cynicism. He constructs a strong argument for grassroots efforts and rejection of the status quo. My favorite metaphor in the book is the call to be a "unicorn in a balloon factory." Small movement can create huge impact!

Padlet-Collaboration Tool

http://padlet.com/

Grades: Grades 6-12

I found this free tool through a Common Sense Media review of the 10 best new applications for educators. (The review is here: http://www.graphite.org/website/padlet.) Anna Taylor and I are using it to collaborate for a project and I'm really inspired by its functionality.

Padlet lets you pin videos, text, links, images, anything that can be added to a board with a simple drag-and-drop system. It enables you to share ideas from many different mediums, including documents, class notes, and completed assignments, in one easy to access place. Since more than one person can contribute to a Padlet wall, its useful for teamwork and group project. I like one educator's suggestion that you can post a prompt, ask each student to contribute, and then once everyone has posted, you can change the setting so everyone's input can be seen.

Anna found this great Padlet mini-tutorial on YouTube which explains some of the features that are especially useful for teachers.

Edmodo: A Great Tool for School Librarians

Edmoto: A great tool for school librarians. (2013). School Library Monthly, 29(8). Retrieved from:

http://www.schoollibrarymonthly.com/articles/Holzweiss2013-v29n5p14.html

Edmodo is a great way for librarians to being their school library into the 21^st century. It takes us from the basic one-way school library website with the typical research tools, links to databases and pathfinders, and lists of books for suggested reading, to school librarians interacting with their students in and out of the library. It also provides a way to collaborate with and reach teachers that may not use the library otherwise. Perfect for a virtual learning commons!

How Social Media is Being Used in Educaiton

Nicole Myerscough

Lepi, K.  (2013, October 29).  How social media is being used in education. Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/social-media-in-education/

I found this article/pictograph regarding the use of mobile devices and social media, and how the use of them is lower than expected in academic institutions as compared with that of personal social media use. The charts display an overwhelming increase in the use of social media and specify which ones are most popular. Concerns are express regarding the division in social media between personal and professional life. Also, I found it interesting to view the top three privacy concerns which is likely the greatest factor as to why social media has yet to become mainstream in higher academic settings.

I will agree that I have minimal online presence with professional social media networking sites (i.e. Linkedin), and I'm sure I'm not alone with the feeling that I'm tired of creating new accounts and profiles. I recently joined Research Gate and joined Yammer for a charity I work with. Unfortunately, social media can at times feel overwhelming as if it's more of an expectation and not a choice.

eduClipper - for Teachers & Students

Nicole Myerscough

Bellow, A.  (2013, September 18).  Increase teacher effectiveness with eduClipper.  Retrieved from http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2013/09/increase-teacher-effectiveness-with.html

Yes, eduClipper is another social, collaborative, and sharing website for content curation. If used as an entire class the ability to collaborate on individual assignments and offer anytime assistance to the students from their teacher or fellow classmates improves. Collaboration has proven to be highly successful in learning in addition to other skills necessary to succeed as members of our society. eduClipper meets many of the AASL standards necessary for the 21st century learners and even uses the Charlotte Danielson's framework for teaching (see The Danielson Group from more information) The article nicely charts components of the education framework used to design eduClipper and how this free online tool meets each component as well as providing an information video trailer.

eduClipper can also be used to set up or improve upon current personal learning environments/networks.

Updating Those Acceptable Use Policies

Jessica King

Chaplin, H. (2012, April 6). Welcoming mobile: More districts are rewriting acceptable use policies, embracing smartphone and social media in schools. Spotlight On. Retrieved from http://spotlight.macfound.org/featured-stories/entry/welcoming-mobile-rewriting-acceptable-use-smartphones-and-social-media/

            Chaplin supplies a thorough examination of the initial thoughts and fears surrounding the Web, the growing use of the Internet, the impact CIPA had (and is still having), and how that has shaped current views of Internet use in schools. She acknowledges that perceptions of the immediate dangers the web poses are changing but caution should still be used. These changing views and the increasing usage of technology in and out of school needs to be addressed in updated Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs). To emphasize her points she pulls from multiple examples of how schools are bringing technology and the Web into the their daily teaching activities.  

            Many schools are now allowing increased amount of Internet use in their schools but they will not be prepared for challenges that may arise because their AUP is outdated. The AUP is not just there for schools to use in case upset parents approach about their child coming across something ‘inappropriate.’ Chaplin (2012) asserts, “schools ought to be providing safe environments for students to learn how to be responsible digital citizens.” This is absolutely true, the filters mandated by CIPA were not meant to keep students from everything the Internet has to offer forever and part of the mandate was that the schools teach students digital citizenship skills. The AUP needs to reflect this dedication to students learning these skills and understanding their responsibility when it comes to using this tool. 

Straight from the DOE: Dispelling Myths About Blocked Sites.

Pam Scholz

ET

Barseghian, T.  (2011).  Straight from the DOE:  Dispelling myths about blocked sites.  Retrieved from:  
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/04/straight-from-the-doe-facts-about-blocking-sites-in-schools/

Includes discussion with Department of Education’s Director of Education Technology, Karen Cator dispelling myths about blocked sites and the repercussions.

Using Twitter in the Classroom

Justice, Ashley

Jukes, Ian. 60 ways to use Twitter in the classroom by category. Retrieved from
http://fluency21.com/blog/2013/06/18/60-ways-to-use-twitter-in-the-classroom-by-category/?utm_source=Committed+Sardines&utm_campaign=deaddffec8-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f244ccc9d2-deaddffec8-188994535

As stated in the title, this resource compiles ideas for employing Twitter in the classroom. Many of the ways listed are common knowledge, but others are more creative. For instance:

• For students who have trouble with disruptive blurting, allow them to instantly tweet their blurts silently instead of out loud.
• Send out quick quizzes on Twitter, and have them count for bonus points in the classroom.
• At the end of the day, teachers can summarize what has been learned in the classroom, encouraging reflection and discussion between students.
• At the College of the Holy Cross, assistant professor Daniel Klinghard uses Twitter to teach students to be concise, summarizing major political texts without going over Twitter-imposed character limits.

If only students at my school were allowed to use their devices for educational purposes...

For Better Or Worse? Technology and Student Writing

Michelle Windell

How Do Tech Tools Affect the Way Students Write? http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/how-do-tech-tools-affect-the-way-students-write/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

The recent PEW Research report presents data collected from almost 2500 teachers on how they see technology impacting students’ writing. On the positive side, technology fuels students’ creativity and enthusiasm. Students are writing much more now than their teachers did in middle and high school. They are more inclined to be thoughtful in their writing, because new technologies give them a wider audience. They are also more inclined to improve their writing, based on peer feedback in shared documents. A downside of technology on student writing is that it tends to be more informal than in the past...a carry over from facebook? Also, students have shorter attention spans, and they struggle with writing longer pieces. And of course there is the matter of citing one’s sources, which most students do not do well. This issue is difficult for teachers to address, as they are often unclear themselves on proper citation of digital resources. In spite of the negatives, most teachers view affects on student writing favorably, and are willing to address the negatives. This article didn’t hold any surprises, but we would expect to be the case is now supported by this research.

Show This Article to Your Principal!

Michelle Windell

How Leadership Can Make or Break Classroom Innovation http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/how-leadership-can-make-or-break-classroom-innovation/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

This article demonstrates what effective principals and superintendents at the forefront of incorporating technology into their schools are doing and thinking. They are willing to take risks, and encourage their teachers to do so. They understand the concept of modeling desired behavior (blended teaching and collaboration are given as examples). They work to change policies instead of saying no to innovations. They support teachers’ professional development. They fundraise to support good ideas. And they take heat from higher up, because schools in transition do not always perform so well on standardized tests or on traditional evaluations. The bottom line is that they put students first. The article concludes with the plight of a teacher who was unsupported in his attempt to gamify in his classroom. His morale was shot to the ground as a result, and he continues his work - what he knows is best for kids - in silence, behind closed doors, and without administrative support.

As the title post suggests, I think this is an excellent article to share with reluctant administrators. As the article points out, many of them are caught in between the school district/school board and the reality of the classroom. As teacher librarians, we must advocate for best use of technology in our school, and articles like this one could help with our powers of persuasion.

Safety on the Internet--from 4th graders!!

This is a great blog post from Shannon Miller, the librarian at Van Meter school. Her fourth graders created Animoto "videos" about Internet safety, addressing password issues, talking to strangers, the age requirement for Facebook, and being careful of what you say online. It's great to see that young kids are learning these things and then sharing them in interesting and creative ways. This is a great inspiration and certainly a fun use for Animoto. I am curious about what led up to this in terms of teaching the information, what it means, and how to use Animoto.

Miller, S. (2012, Nov. 20). No title. Retrieved from
http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/2012/11/our-4th-graders-created-awesome-lets.html

post by Allyson Bogie

Our online presences & PLEs

by Allyson Bogie

In my mind, the PLE has a few components. One of these components is keeping track of your information sources. For example, a big part of my PLE is my Google Reader. Anytime I find a blog that I would like to read regularly, I add it to my reader. Then, I check my reader most days. I have different folders--friends/family, local, and professional/LIS. This is a significant source of information for me. I have also started using Twitter as a significant information source, and I'm noticing that it's rapidly getting used more and more, in so many different ways. I'm excited to be reading Twitter--and now I want to start producing content.

All of this relates to a blog post that I read on a cool block called Hack Library School that's in my Google reader. It's a blog maintained by library school students, and a lot of the entries really relate to my experiences and interests in SLIS and librarianship in general.

The blog post of mention is called "Online Presents, a.k.a. You 2.0" (Pho, 2011, February 2). Pho stresses the importance of having a Google-able online presence, and says this is something that she has spent some time discussing in library school. Certain things should be kept private (most likely your FB page) but you should also be aware of what is public--it can be surprising. In this vein, it's probably a good idea to "google" your name once in awhile. One comment that came up on the blog was that if at least one (or more) other people have your name, it can be problematic. People agreed that if this is the case, you have to try even harder to establish your online presence, so that if someone searches your name on Google they will recognize that your online presence is that of a librarian/librarian candidate with your name.

So my question to all of you is, how do you establish an online presence? What type of online presence do you have? Whose online presence do you admire? And when do you Google search someone? For what purpose?

Pho, C. "Online presence, a.k.a. you 2.0." (2011, February 2). Blog post. Accessed at hacklibschool.wordpress.com.

Using Twitter to build a personal learning network

Teri Lesesne gave an excellent presentation at KidLitCon 2012 about using Twitter to build a professional learning network. Teri pulled together so much of what I've experienced over the past year with Twitter.

Teri Lesesne (@ProfessorNana on Twitter),  often known as "the Goddess of YA", is a professor of children’s and YA literature at Sam Houston University.  Teri was inspiring, informative and funny as she shared how social media, and Twitter in particular, has enriched her professional life. At its essence, Twitter is about connecting people who share common interests and enabling quick, meaningful conversations. Through her extensive network, Lesesne is able to reach out to teachers, school librarians, authors, publishers, editors and more to learn about children’s books. These are educated stakeholders who share information, experience and advice on an informal, collegial manner.

Twitter continues to grow at astounding rates, attracting its largest demographic from women and from people ages 22-55 years old. Its usage has doubled within the last twelve months. With more limits on professional development funds, it is essential that we invest time and effort in developing our professional network in ways that don’t rely on attending conferences.

 Lesesne recommends finding a few trusted voices, following their conversations and exploring who they’re talking with. John Schumacher (@MrSchuReads), Donalyn Miller (@donalynbooks), Paul Hankins (@PaulWHankins) and Katherine Sokolowski (@katsok) all are excellent choices for teachers and school librarians. Start by listening to their conversations and exploring links they share, but then try jumping in and adding your perspective.

 Finally, Lesesne recommended checking out a regular Twitter chat such as #titletalk. Titletalk is a monthly chat hosted by Donalyn Miller and Colby Sharp, held on the last Sunday of every month at 8pm Eastern time. Each month, teachers and librarians from across the US (and beyond) gather on Twitter to share their favorite children's books. Just last weekend, the Titletalk focused on book talking as a way to recommend books (archive available here). One great way to follow a Twitter chat such as this is using the website TweetChat.

 Check out more of Lesesne's excellent points through her SlideShare presentation. Follow her on Twitter (@ProfessorNana) - she shares a wealth of information. And stop by her blog (Professor Nana) to get great reading recommendations.

 I really enjoy using Twitter to connect with librarians, teachers and children's book lovers. It's a wonderful resource for when I'm trying to think of new titles to share with kids. And the best is connecting with others who are just as excited about sharing books. Come say hi to me on Twitter if you get a chance - I'm @MaryAnnScheuer.

Lesesne, T. (2012). "Don't Be a Twit: Building a PLN using social networks." Talk delivered at KidLitCon. Slides available on SlideShare at http://www.slideshare.net/ProfessorNana/dont-be-a-twitt